La de dahttps://yolaleah.wordpress.com
Life and Times in a Librarian's WorldSun, 01 Feb 2015 03:06:47 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngLa de dahttps://yolaleah.wordpress.com
Where I’m Livinghttps://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/where-im-living/
https://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/where-im-living/#commentsMon, 11 Jul 2011 17:55:11 +0000http://yolaleah.wordpress.com/?p=548]]>As you can see, I am no longer actively posting on La de da. If you would still like to read my rambling thoughts, please find me on Twitter.

Today, big stuff happened on the libraries and ebooks front. And I tried to write an eloquent and stern “open letter to HarperCollins” type post. But so many people are doing it much better than I can. So instead, I will do something I am good at and point you towards the resources to educate yourself about what is going on and what you can do about it.

First, read the Library Journal article written by Josh Hadro who broke the story. It’s really great reporting. Thank you so much Josh.

That right there is the email HarperCollins has obviously set up specifically for our complaints and suggestions. So let them have it. Tell them what you think and what you have to say about it. Give them any suggestions you have for how to make this right and more importantly if you are angry about this decision (that’s right Librarians, it is okay to be angry) that was made without libraries and librarians having any place or opinion in the matter tell them about it.

So, fair readers, today I am here to write about a nifty little group I heard about on Studio360 (which is, btw, a NPR show you should probably be listening to, if you don’t already). What happens when you mix classical music nerds and indie pop?

BEAUTIFUL THINGS!

Just watch this and then purchase all her albums. You know you want to:

Hopefully the snow won’t prevent you from doing so.

SNONOES!

Stay warm! Stay safe! And have a wonderful weekend fair readers.

]]>https://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2011/02/05/like/feed/0yolaleahChicago Blizzard 2011Tess of the d’Ubervilles. A Soundtrack.https://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/tess-of-the-dubervilles-a-soundtrack/
https://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/tess-of-the-dubervilles-a-soundtrack/#commentsTue, 25 Jan 2011 04:40:37 +0000http://yolaleah.wordpress.com/?p=527Continue reading →]]>So I had the day off today and while reading for my book club, I became inspired. I made a soundtrack for the book Tess of the d’Ubervilles. You can view it here:

]]>https://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/tess-of-the-dubervilles-a-soundtrack/feed/4yolaleahWe Come From the Seahttps://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/we-come-from-the-sea/
https://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/we-come-from-the-sea/#commentsFri, 14 Jan 2011 15:08:35 +0000http://yolaleah.wordpress.com/?p=521Continue reading →]]>An old friend of mine is looking for help. Davis Silis is a director and is looking for support for his new short film We Come From The Sea. Watch his video here:

Even $1 will help their cause and if you can give more, then please considering doing so. Their kickstart page can be accessed here:

Support the arts and consider giving Davis and Co. a helping in hand to create their beautiful short film.

Have a great weekend, fair readers.

]]>https://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/we-come-from-the-sea/feed/0yolaleahGood Parentinghttps://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/good-parenting/
https://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/good-parenting/#commentsSat, 08 Jan 2011 16:49:12 +0000http://yolaleah.wordpress.com/?p=512Continue reading →]]>I am sitting here thinking about one of my first musical memories. This was really the moment when I realized the time how much music could make me feel and how truly emotional listening to music can be. It was when my Mom played The Great Gig in the Sky by Pink Floyd for me. It was Christmas, a long time ago. My Dad had bought her the album on CD when we first bought a CD player (I was pretty young). She put the CD in and put it on this track. I remember feeling a little afraid of the song. The woman wailing…why was she so upset? But I also remember my complete awe. Understanding the relationship between the music and how I was being made to feel at that moment. I think its safe to say that was a pivital moment in my childhood, especially when it comes to my relationship with music now. Just one of those great and amazing memories that shapes us.

Thank you Mom for introducing me to the emotional side of music. And thank you Dad for re-buying her the album that introduced me to this concept. Now that’s what I call good parenting.

2010 was special. It was my year of change. I moved in with my boyfriend and headed to a new neighborhood—got a new job, in a new type of library, in a field I never imagined myself specializing in–I published my very first featured article in Library Journal–I turned 28, moving just a bit further into my late twenties–co-founded the Chicago Deskset. Also my little nephew Oscar turned 1 and started to walk and talk and become a tiny little person. There have been lots of big moments.

But as usual, this has been a year of good reads, great concerts and complete loves. How could it not? Here are my favorites…

Cut Copy at Lollapalooza

I wish I could find the perfect youtube video to show you how completely in the palm of Cut Copy’s hands we were…it was just amazing. He said jump, we jumped. A lot. It was a total blast. Everyone danced. Everyone leaped around. We just fed off each other. I haven’t been to such a perfectly in sync concert with the musicians and the crowd just vibing off each other like that in years. Made Lollapalooza definitely the best concert experience of 2010.

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

What can I say, other than: Go read it. Now. You can thank me later. Don’t worry that it was picked by Oprah for her book club. Who cares? Just get to a library and grab a copy of this book. Seriously….now! Stop reading this silly blog and go!

Grand Canyon National Park

Sometimes I think about how much I underestimated the power and majesty of the Grand Canyon…and then I laugh at myself. This was simply the best. We did a great deal of hiking at the canyon. I have done small hikes but this was a whole new level. It was so challenging and so incredibly rewarding in ways I never knew possible. Nothing compares to hiking on an unmaintained path, up the edge of the Grand Canyon. It changes things. Going to the Grand Canyon was a much needed reminder for me. I cannot wait to go back and discover more. Some people feel patriotic when they see an American Flag? Well this makes me feel patriotic. America the Beautiful, indeed.

There’s more. More moments and songs and books and words. 2010 was pretty good to me, looking at it overall. Funny how each year just brings more surprises. More depth. I can hardly wait.

]]>https://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/have-you-voted-yet/feed/0yolaleahA little help from my friends.https://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2010/11/03/a-little-help-from-my-friends/
https://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2010/11/03/a-little-help-from-my-friends/#commentsWed, 03 Nov 2010 14:27:20 +0000http://yolaleah.wordpress.com/?p=491Continue reading →]]>As many of you know, I recently took a position at the Morton Grove Public Library as the Readers Services Librarian. The first major project I planned was our participation in the Playaway Picture This Contest. Playaways are a relatively new style of audiobook and as a promotion, they are awarding $10,000 to the library who created the best display. I coordinated with every department in the library, borrowed some mannequins from Turin Bicycle in Evanston, IL and got to work on creating the best display we could possibly get together. Its not very often that you have a chance to win 10 grand with no strings attached! It is just money that will go directly to the library.

Now we have made it to the top 10 and the rest is up to an online vote. And I am asking for your help. It is very simple. Just go to this link:

You can view our photographs, which I’m pretty proud of, enter a valid email address, and click on “vote for this library”. There is one vote per valid email address. And please, once you have done that, please share the link on facebook, twitter, or forward this email. Post it to your blog or your website. Please pass it on. The way this can be successful is through word of mouth. And I know that I can count on you to spread the vote.

So help us (and me) out and please vote for the Morton Grove Public Library. Again, the link is:

It’s been 3 months since I have posted. I have little excuse for such behavior and I will fully admit that this blog may now seem all but dead. But in my own defense, I have been…

busy.

Insane amounts of busy. I have been working at a new library, in a new position and I have found that, low and behold, I am pretty damn good at it. Still, starting a new job is challenging. And that has taken up much of my time. Also I have been pouring my heart and soul into the group that I co-founded with Adam Girard and Anthony Molaro, the Chicago Deskset. And this has been going splendidly.

But! As you can tell from the title, this isn’t exactly the point of the post. For the past few months I have been working very hard on the feature piece for the Salaries & Placements issue of Library Journal. And today, it has appeared in the online format.

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this — it was such an honor to first, be selected by LJ and then two, be able to work with an amazing editor, and three, to have the honor of selecting three incredibly talented librarians to write with. Adam, Karen and Molly, seriously, I know I keep saying this but THANK YOU! I am constantly in awe of my peers and what we are capable of putting out into the world. Your writing brings me to tears and makes me laugh and makes me proud to be a librarian. So yeah. You pretty much rock my world.

Okay, now I will get back into library world. Working my tail off. Writing what I feel. And speaking my mind. I will be back, fair readers. I just don’t know when.